Sermon Preached by the Rev. A. N. Rowland in Union Church on June 5, 1924
"Say unto Wisdom, Thou my sister, and call Under standing thy Ki insigomun, that they may keep thee from the abrannge woman, Prov. Tobe These words are urgent enough when you see what follows. They ave part of the prologue to a Gramatie chapter in. which we shown, step by step, the course of that we call a moral downfall. The writer pie tures a young man who has got mixed up with the wrong set. He has turned his back on the me Mhuences that would have braced hbim3. he has neglected his higher nature and then wondered at the strength of his lower nature; he has refused spiritual master and then complained that God has made him fa physical slave. Such a typical young man and the writer sketches the course of his inevitable tragedy, how he "goeth on, as a bird haste th to the snare, as ain ox goeth to the slaughter, and knoweth not that it is for his life."
We all know there is a side of civilization that will not bear much speaking about, and does not get closely looked into, It is a cause of discomfort and shame and we are {inclined to leave it alone. But there it is, and it is not leaving us alone. It is undermining the strength of our civilization not the less surely be-ensue it is half hidden, Tt cuts at the roots of home, it cancels out the work of education, it nullifies man's highest, privileges' and steals away his soul. This vice is the child of nin and the parent of sickness, and we could trace the mischief along both these lines of misery.
But I would also vernind you that it has the shame of slavery, not merely that men become slaves to themselves, but that women are en= slaved to money.
"Branded as Per Margin."
The bitterest thing that can be said against human nature is that there are people who promote view in order to profit by it, who wax fat on the failings of their fellows. This vice is organized, there is money hind it and it means slavery. Prof. Ramsay Muir has been telling the men of Lancashire that the wealth of their county is largely built upon the slave traffic which was suppressed less than a century ago, "Prime negroes branded as per margin" were a regular item on the invoice, They were bought in Africa for bad muskets and cheap spirits, shipped to the West Indies, and the survivors were exchanged again fov rum, sugar and tobacco. "Tt was probably the most lucrative trade any people have engaged in." has often teen our defence, whether in" sorrow or in doubt or in Ceraptation. Trecall a story by Bden Philpotts of 'a. man who gave the strength of his mature years to the yeelaimaing of the wild moorland as 2 means of assuaging the remorse his heart. To him it was no forse but means of lightening Work has helped to keep at a distance that sin of idle gloom which was #0 prevalent in medieval times, especially in monasteries, Wester pers, we Know, are much given to work. It amuses us sometimes to think of it, but itis not because they Tave it, but because they find it good for them. Orientals may. pity all this output of energy' and. prefer their own placidity' and lethargy. But it is worthy of note that by deeming idle hours other values have been redeemed, und in. the lends where men Work' Women are Ideals yr. Instinets, But work is not everything after Much work that goes on be-Tongs only to the suburbs and outskirts of a man's real life, It is a poor business when the mind is blank and the heart empty, Here comes in the wisdom of this counsel to those who are uncertain of their paths. Engage your thoughts and affections to all that breathes of wisdom, "Say unto Wisdom, Thou art my sister and all Understanding thy Kinswoman." Cultivate their felendship, and give yourself up to I noticed that a writer on this subject, quoted in Thursday's paper, stopped short with the following sentence. "Youths and maidens of the future must be taught to be-Neve and practice that it is not instincts that matter, but the deals you bring to them." She {surely righty Sut she" stop hart 100 soon." For what chance has an ideal against an. instinct?
"hopeless, unless infareed by some affection or nthusinam. Our" text has far more insight than many a modern treatise, It aye' in eect that fe not enough to take off your hat to. Wisdom, and. pay. your res. pects to. Good Sense. You must brow yourself into the matter, claim Falationship with them, declare you Cannot live without them. "Say into Wisdom. Thea, art may woman, my" Sister"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.